one might wonder as to the incentive people would have to work and provide for their own subsistence and the society as a whole.

One might, indeed.

Until, that is, one remembers that in order to cash in on a pension, people have to actually survive to retirement age.

There can be people that can deserve a bigger pension than the state level and I don't feel like denying them the right.

If people wish to save more for their retirement, nothing prevents them from buying German sovereign debt (what they should not be entitled to is a fifty percent tax break for doing so, but that's another story...).

If they buy anything more risky than that, however, they should not come crying for a handout when it blows up in their face.

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.